My name is Ann, and I am a single mom. I adopted two beautiful sisters in the late fall of 2011. I am hoping to journal my journey as a mom and share my ups and downs...most of all, my heart. I hope that we can encourage each other through this journey.

The Romagnolo Family

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Stress Over the Holidays

There are now 23 days left until Christmas. Fall and Christmas are usually my favorite times of the year. I love fall because of all things pumpkin. I love Christmas for everything that is associated with it: the lights, trees, decorations, Christmas Concerts/Shows, the music and of course celebrating Jesus' birthday with my girls.

This year has been different. If you read my last post, you know that I was in a weird funk earlier this week. This whole school year has been a little weird. There have been so many great parts too. I love my students, I ran my first half marathon, I got to run in my first runDisney race, my daughters are doing really well in school, etc. We haven't had to deal with sickness or the loss of a loved one or a relationship like many of my friends have this year. Life hasn't been hard for us. It's just been weird.

For some reason, I just became very overwhelmed with the upcoming holidays and life in general this past week. I wasn't looking forward to any part of it. We are headed to Disney in 16 days and I am not even that excited. This should really tell you that I've been overwhelmed. Our elves haven't made their appearance yet. They were going to come back last night, but mommy (me) was in bed under the warm covers when she remembered. They stayed in the closet. I'm hoping that they come out tonight. I haven't designed or ordered our Christmas cards yet. If you know me, there might have been a year when they were mailed out the day before Thanksgiving.

For the past 11 months I had been saving every penny so that we could participate in the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. I had saved up money so that we could upgrade to Annual Passes when we got there. I knew that we'd get our use out of them with us driving back to Florida for Christmas, the Princess Half Marathon and then using our DVC this summer. I was stressing because the girls weren't going to have lots of presents under the tree because I've been saving for all of this.

A few of my friends had to remind me to slow down and keep it simple. Here is the reality...Christmas isn't about gifts. Months ago, I had ordered them scooters from Walmart just for Christmas. I also decided that on Christmas morning they were going to open a box of kitty toys from Santa with a note saying that they could go pick out a kitty when they got back to Texas. Over the weekend, a family member was asking what the girls wanted for Christmas. I asked Mia and she said...a scooter and a cat. I'm not kidding! Thank you Jesus! A few days before Christmas break, our Elves are going to leave a note saying that Santa is sending them to Disney for Christmas. All of this is enough! I need to keep that in perspective. I've been trying to teach my girls that Christmas is about family and our little traditions and not about gifts.

I've decided that we are going to keep it as simple as possible this holiday season. If we have time or energy to do something extra, then we will. If not, it's okay. Today's society can get us so stressed about having to keep up with the Joneses and be the Queen of all things Pinterest. I've decided that I'm going to be a rebel. I'm not going to conform to society's expectations. Our Elves will show up sometime this weekend. They probably won't be as mischievious this year and they won't be bringing gifts leading up to Christmas. It's okay. My girls don't need all of that. They need their mommy to be present and sane. They get to go to one of their favorite places this Christmas and to see their Aunt, Uncle, Poppy, Nana, cousins and friends. That is what matters.

Don't let yourself get overwhelmed this holiday season. Take time every day to focus on your blessings. Spend this holiday season focusing on what matters the most. How do you get throught the holidays?

BTW...if you see my girls before Christmas please don't tell them about their Christmas gifts. They are ALL a surprise (yes, even Disney).